Past News Items

The Indian Bureau's adult education program, now getting under way in five tribal areas from Florida to Idaho, will be extended "to meet the broader needs of Indians as funds permit and as the interests of the Indians indicate," Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons indicated today.

The Potawatomi Area Field Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has been operating from both Mayetta and Horton, Kansas locations, will be consolidated in the near future into a single office at Horton, the Department of Interior announced today.

Up to now only the land operations personnel and the Bureau's field representative were stationed at Mayetta. Tho latter, however, served three days a week at Horton.

Award of a $404,743.80 contract for construction of 15,930 miles of access road into the Navajo Reservation, McKinley County, New Mexico, to the W. A. Hamilton, Jr. Construction Company of Gallup, New Mexico, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The Hamilton bid was the lowest of eight received with the other bids ranging from $443,688.44 to $524,951,04.

Opportunities for training on the job in manufacturing plants located near Indian reservations will be provided for nearly 700 Indians under contracts recently signed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs with eight private business firms, Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton announced today.

Two of the plants providing the training are in North Carolina, two in Arizona, two in South Dakota, and one each in New Mexico and Washington. All have been cooperating in the Indian Bureau's industrial development program and have for some months past been employing Indian workers.

Sanders Construction Company, Ltd, of Farmington, New Mexico, has been awarded a $51,513 contract for construction of additional dormitory facilities at Aztec, New Mexico, the Department of Interior announced today.

Two higher bids for the work, ranging from $52,647 to $57,389 were received by the Indian Bureau.

The contract calls for construction of a metal kitchen and dining hall building and extensions of two metal dormitory buildings.

Acting Secretary of the Interior Hatfield Chilson today authorized the Bureau of Indian Affairs to offer for agricultural development lease as a unit an area of about 65,000 acres of highly fertile irrigable land on the Colorado River Indian Reservation near Parker, Arizona.

The offering is to be made under a 1955 law which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease the land on behalf of the beneficial Indian owners for not more than 25 years. Under this act the lease must be consummated by next August 14.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton called attention today to the publication of a proposed membership roll of the Wyandotte Indian Tribe of Oklahoma which appeared in the Federal Register of April 6.

The roll was prepared by the tribe under terms of a 1956 congressional law which provides for termination of Federal supervision over the property of the tribe by 1958.

Awarding of a $40,880 contract to Erhardt Dahl Andersen of Pocatello, Idaho, for preliminary construction work on the Michaud Unit of the Fort Hall (Idaho) Indian Irrigation Project was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Award of a $46,458 contract for construction of a temporary movable school on the Navajo Indian Reservation at Inscription House, Arizona, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Proposed regulations to govern the preparation of an up-to-date membership roll of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina were announced today by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

Under the rules, which have been recommended by the Eastern Cherokee Tribal Council, and will be published in the Federal Register, the membership roll of the band would be brought up to date as authorized by congressional legislation enacted last August.